Dark Abyss
by Jaime Volterra
Summary: Pain is something you endure. You inhale like it is your favorite drug and allow it to mess you up. It's your best friend, it's your ex-lover. It's everything. You find comfort in pain because it's familiar. What happens when you lose sight of what's familiar?
1. The Predator

Chapter 1: The Predator

I live on a hill, well hill adjacent. The earth feels flat beneath my feet and the house doesn't slant but the road leading up the hill suggests otherwise. Like everything in my life, this house is off-balance. It tries to convince me that it's not, that everything is in place, but I know the truth. It is slanted, crooked, uneven-much like my mind, my heart and everything else in between. The walls on the inside of the house are white, almost deathly pale in contrast to the brown carpeted floor. I'm trapped in the living room, forced to sit on a red leather couch and forced to watch animals in the wild on an old, black Panasonic T.V. The predator is chasing its prey, desperate to sink its teeth into the poor creature's neck.

I close my eyes and exhale slowly, wishing I could go to my room. I'm safe in my room, I can be _me_ in my room. But no, my very own predator is forcing me to sit next to him and enjoy a program that makes me want to hurl. How did I get here? Why am I here? I turn my head and look at my predator, he greets me with a crooked smile and dark ruby eyes. His wild curly brown hair and bushy beard suggests he cares little about his appearance. He's wearing a red flannel shirt and dark blue jeans that are ripped at the knees. He has black steel-toed boots on his feet, and they are caked in blood around the edges.

He is a killer and he_ wants_ me to know that, he shows it to me in small ways. He's determined to drill it into my head that I am his prey and he holds all the cards. I look away. I can't stare into those deadly red eyes any more than I can accept that this is my life. But it is and I must get used to it, I must accept that my life will always be off balance. "Are you hungry?" The deep boom of his voice makes me twitch and I laugh nervously, shaking my head and blinking rapidly as if that will transport me back to a simpler time. The couch dips and I can tell he's shifting closer to me, eager to touch me and I quickly stand up. I twist my body and my white nightgown flutters around my legs as I face him. "What's wrong? Too soon? I'm sorry, I just wanted to..."

"Take my pain away, I know. But if you do that, I'll have nothing left." My voice sounds hollow in my ears, emptier than the hole in the backyard that he'd promised to fill-with a body or two. My predator frowns at me and nods in understanding, as if he really understands me and he turns his gaze back to the t.v. I take this opportunity to walk away, back to the safety of my room. Once inside I'm greeted by another set of white walls, a window with bars just above a mahogany desk that's a few feet away from a twin-sized bed that's unmade. My bed. I close the door behind me and slide down to the ground, letting my back press against the door as a wheeze escape me.

I run my hands through my short black hair and struggle to breathe, my eyes screwed shut as I try to will away the memory of what almost happened just a few minutes ago. It takes a while to regain my composure but eventually I manage to breathe normally, and the violent shaking of my body stops. Slowly I open my eyes and the room around me has changed, the walls are suddenly a mural of the galaxy-stars and planets litter all four walls and the ceiling holds the large, bright sun. I am laughing and crying now, clapping my hands because a miracle is happening, and I have no idea why.

_**I feel free. I am free. **_

And then he knocks on the door. Shit.

The miracle is over, the murals of space start to bleed and drip down to the carpet. It is over simply because the predator, my predator has knocked on the door. I wipe my tears away and sigh heavily, the flood of pain is returning, and the knocking is growing louder in my ears. I stand up and yank the door open, glaring at the intruder. As I stare into his red eyes, I can see concern, anger and something inexplicable. Something soft takes over his sun-kissed face and I shudder at the thought of what it could be. I instinctively take a step back as the predator stalks into my room and plants himself on my bed. He sifts through the grey silk sheets as if he's searching for a sharp object or drugs.

As if I can get away with obtaining either things with him hovering over me and reminding me that he is deadly. "This is my room. You said you wouldn't come in here! You're a liar. You lied! You-" He's in my face in an instant, his hand cupping my face with his thumb digging into my cheek to shut me up. He's breathing deeply, low growls rumbling up his throat as he stares into my frightened brown eyes. The silence is crushing my soul, my brain feels like it's a second away from imploding and my heart has yet to cease banging against my rib cage.

The eerie creaking of the front door opening destroys the spell between us, and he releases me. I sink to the floor and gasp for air, when I look up, he's gone. It's as if he never existed and for some reason that terrifies me more than the loss of my own life. Another voice fills the air as my predator greets whoever is at the door. This voice is airy but masculine, a warm voice that ignites hope within my bones. I squash it quickly with the reminder that my predator is with this voice. "She's not eating, she doesn't want me taking her pain and she's crazy! If you think you can do any better, be my guest Kenny."

Kenny? No, no names. No! I cover my ears and try to will it away but it's in there, wrapping itself around my mind like a warm blanket. I hear footsteps approaching and I am paralyzed with the fear that relief is coming, the good cop is coming, and he might put me out of my misery.

But that's not what I want.


	2. The Angel

Chapter 2: The Angel

In a world of darkness there is light, and, in my case, this snowy-haired, blue-eyed angel is my light. He smiles and dimples appear in each cheek. There is an outline of cerulean that pulses from his body and I'm positive that I'm witnessing another miracle. Unlike the predator, the angel -_Kenny_\- is clean cut, clear faced and _bright_. He is wearing a sky-blue shirt that is buttoned all the way, his sleeves aren't rolled up and it makes me wonder if he's hiding scars of his own. Like everything else about him his grey slacks are clean and without tears, even his grey loafers seem to be without any traces of grime.

_**How the hell does my predator know this guy?**_

"Jasmine? I'm _Kenny_. _Reven_ told me you haven't been eating lately, that you've been struggling quite a bit. I'm here to help." His voice is a gentle whisper, almost as if he's afraid to startle me. He waits for me to say something, to _**truly**_ acknowledge him. I should be terrified that he knows my name, that he told me _his _name and _more importantly_-the name of my predator. But I can't, all I feel is a sense of calm and it grows because of his voice. I continue to stare at him as if he's the Messiah. He reaches out a hand and he takes my right hand in his, giving it a squeeze. My eyes flicker from his face to our joined hands and the difference between us is so palpable it hurts.

Spiderweb-like scars trail from the knuckles of my hand and up my arm, stopping just below my bicep. It is a horror show compared to flawless ivory hand and the shimmery blue sleeve across from me. I feel a blossom of pain within my chest and I yank my hand away from him. I glare at him and he stares back at me with what appears to be compassion. I hate him. I open my mouth to tell him that, but the words stay lodged in my throat, so I close it. Instead I cradle my arm to my chest and inch away from him, keeping my head low so that my hair serves as a curtain between us when it spills into my face.

"Go away," I croak out softly, "I don't want you here."

A heavy sigh escapes _Kenny's_ lips and I hear him begin to retreat into the living room where _Reven _is. I hate that I know their names now. I didn't want to know them, to feel a connection beyond abductors and abductee. They are the enemy, not my friends. The angel was sent by the predator to disarm me, I know that now. His gentle nature and angelic face were weapons meant to trick me into feeling a sense of security.

An hour and thirty minutes have gone by since the encounter with the angel. The daylight has departed, and grey clouds and rain take its place. It is a legato rhythm and it only grows louder in my ears, drowning out the muffled voices I pretend aren't real.

An old woman suddenly floods my mind, her skin is eggshell white, and her eyes are practically onyx. These eyes are as lifeless as I feel, the light in them completely gone. She is wearing a pink polyester nightgown with yellow flowers stitched at the bottom. Blood is matted in her grey hair and it is then that I realize that I'm hovering over her. The blood is pooling around her head, growing on the white linoleum. The more I stare at her, the more I realize that her leathery skin is clinging to her bones. It's as the soul has been sucked out of her. A strangled cry escapes me and I collapse onto my ass, desperate to crawl away from this woman.

I scream and the nightmare shatters, tossing me into a void of darkness that attacks me from all sides. Black ooze is devouring me, _drowning _me and I am ready for death. A flash of blue light breaks through the darkness, it wraps itself around me and it is warm. There is an echoing of my name, a voice is calling out to me, willing me back to life. "Jamie!" It's the angel's voice ringing in my ears, accompanied by a sharp slap to the face. My vision slowly returns to me and I squint my eyes at _Kenny_ who is hovering over me. It's hard to think of him as just the angel, especially when he looks at me with those giant blue eyes.

"I-I heard you scream, I thought you were being attacked! What happened?"

"I'm fine, I just had a bad dream…" There is a glumness to my tone as I try to play off the nightmare that nearly destroyed me. _Kenny _doesn't look convinced at all, the deep frown on his face and the sadness in his eyes looks unnatural and now all I want to do is make him smile. What the hell is wrong with me? He is the enemy! Despite the warning bells going off in my head, I press a hand to his cheek and glide my fingers slowly down to his jawline. A soft breath escapes him, shock replacing the sadness and a tint of _silver _floods his face. Now it's my turn to gasp and I drop my hand. I try to pull away from him but his grip on my shoulders refuse to slacken.

I am mouse trapped in the talons of hawk, once again I am reminded that he is no different than the predator. "_K-Kenny_, please…you're h-hurting me." I'm a whimpering mess and my voice cracks. I can feel the tears threatening to spill and I hate myself for being so weak. But in this moment, I need to be weak because it is the only way to make him release me. And it works, _Kenny _releases his grip on me completely and I sink back to the ground for a moment, curling into myself as a sob of relief escapes me.


	3. The Drive

Chapter 3: The Drive

The quiet purr of an engine wakes me up and as I open my eyes, I am greeted by the beginning of a new dawn and the serpentine road. "Finally awake? Took ya fuckin' long enough." Reven's gruff voice is the loudest thing that infiltrates my eyes, startling me out of my grogginess instantly. I press my back against the door and stare at him in horror, my heart is drowning out the crunching of gravel and his voice as he continues to prattle on. A faint blue glow enters my field of vision and suddenly I feel unnaturally calm—_Kenny _is here.

I snap my head around to the back and the angel is sitting in the middle of the backseat, grinning warmly at me as if he's happy to see me. "It's all going to be okay, Jasmine. Reven and I agreed that fresh air will do you some good." He speaks to me in that very annoying yet inviting tone, it's warmer than fresh baked cookies and I can feel my stomach flip.

_I hate him. _My thought is as venomous as I suddenly feel and Kenny's face falls in disappointment. I grin slowly, feeling as invincible as the Cheshire Cat and it was then that I noticed a faint red glow coming from Reven from my peripheral vision and I revert my focus back to him.

"I didn't fucking agree, you demanded, and I gave in. I said it was a dumb idea, that it'll never work!" Reven is glaring at Kenny from the rearview mirror, his crimson eyes narrowing in clear disapproval. There is a long dramatic sigh that comes from Kenny and I can practically hear his eyes rolling into the back of his head.

"It's a good idea, Rev! Just because you can't see the forest for the trees doesn't mean Jasmine can't. You're so negative _all _the time!"

"Someone has to be in this damn whatever-ship! She's clearly not going to accept either of our help cause she's fucking stubborn and you know it!" The louder Reven became, the angrier I got. My blood was boiling, and I could feel my veins bulging in my face and neck. An uncharacteristic growl rumbled from my chest and I slam my hand against the dashboard in a fit of rage. "I am _right here _damnit! Don't fucking talk about me like I'm not in the room! Who the fuck do you two think you are?!"

I was screaming at them, I _never _scream. I could feel the two sets of eyes on me and I quickly shut my own. I would not allow them to shake me, I would cling to this newfound anger for as long as I could, it was my drug of choice. My chest rises and falls as I breathe heavily, I can feel sweat trickling down to my neck and suddenly the car feels incredibly cold. Silence is thick between the three of us, it is so painfully loud and demanding. I press a hand to my throat as I try to stabilize my breathing. Everything feels so painful because it is _so_ silent.

I suddenly want to scream again, just so that there's noise other than the sound of the moving car.

. . .

The hellish car ride has finally come to an end as Reven parks on the side of the road where we are greeted by an empty playground. There is a brown sandbox and a rusted blue-green swing set inches away from each other and it is illuminated by the streetlights above. I stare at the dull scene before me while Reven and Kenny get out of the car ahead of me. In a matter of seconds my door is open and the predator is hauling me up to my feet and slamming the car door behind me. "What the hell are we supposed to be doing?"

"It's a playground, obviously we're here to play." Reven retorts in a it-should-be-obvious tone and my eyes narrow at him as I rip my arm out of his grip. I walk ahead of him and shoulder check Kenny on my way to the swings, grumbling obscenities the entire way until I plant myself firmly on the middle swing. When I look up neither the predator nor the angel is where I left them.

I feel the bile rise up my throat as panic suddenly hits me. Where did they go? Were they abandoning me _here_? I close my eyes and count to ten, exhaling slowly and hoping that when I open my eyes they will reappear. They don't. What in the absolute hell? The world around me suddenly feel like it's spinning. I stand up quickly from the swing and immediately sink into the dirt, whimpering and gasping for air.

How could they just leave me without even saying goodbye? What if I _die _out here?

"Hey kid, don't you know it's dangerous to be out here alone?" An unfamiliar male voice hums in my ear, too close for comfort and suddenly ice cold hands are gripping me by the shoulders and yanking me up to my feet. My vision adjusts to a pale face and pink lips set in a cocky, dangerous smirk. Hungry, demonic black eyes scan me as if I'm something to eat. Those pink lips open and an even pinker tongue snakes out to lick them. I shudder and try to pull away but the arms of this new beast keeps me locked in place.

"W-Who are…a-are you?" As I stutter, I mentally kick myself, wishing I could not sound like a pathetic victim. This beast before me laughs, a husky tenor sound and he brushes a hand against my throat so tenderly that it sets me into a deeper pit of confusion and terror. "My name is Angel Versai and I'm a vampire, darling." His accent is an English lilt now that I'm intensely aware of everything he says and does. "You're very pretty like this, barefoot and in your skimpy little nightgown…" He trails a finger like sparks down my neck to the white strap on my shoulder, plucking it playfully.

Angel's eyes hardly leave my face, I feel cold and hollow as he appraises me. Words are lodged in my throat; words fail me as it always has, and I am alone. I am going to die and suddenly I wish Kenny and Reven would return. "You're not much of a talker, are you? Usually this is the part where you people beg for your lives. Don't you want to live?" He cocks his head to the side, brow raised and amusement flickers in those deadly dark eyes.

The question seemed to hang in the air for some time. Eventually I released the pent-up breath I'd been holding to reply, "I wouldn't mind living a little bit longer…But this is natural selection, isn't it? Stupid girl alone at the crack of dawn gets brutally murdered by a vampire. It sounds like a headline almost." Words gush out of me before I can even think to stop myself. Who is this person speaking right now? Did I have a death wish? Clearly.

A guffaw from the vampire floods the air around us, his chest rising and falling as sharp breaths escape him. "Man! You're one of a kind, know that? It makes wanting to drain you of blood almost…criminal."

"Then don't do it. Let me continue to amuse you…wouldn't that be better?"

"Nah, I think I'd get sick of your voice after a while." In that moment, it felt as if the world had suddenly shifted. Sound faded away, only for a violent ringing in my ears to take place. I could feel my blood leaving me and his sharpened fangs digging deeper into my neck. _Go to sleep, little lamb. Go to sleep._ A small, tender voice creeps into my brain and my vision is suddenly hazy. In a matter of seconds darkness claims me and I can only hope that it is death.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Awakening

Reasons to stay alive. . .Honestly? I don't have an answer besides being too afraid to die. Breathing is becoming hard for me. Thinking actual thoughts is even harder. I honestly don't know who I am or what I want. I just know that I want to stay awake. Liar. No I don't, I don't want to wake up. _Go to sleep, little lamb. Go to sleep. _The voice in my head is soft and soothing, convincing me I should sleep, but I don't want to. Sleeping puts me in a bad mood and I am a liar. I'm running away from so many things all at once and I wish I could stop.

_I wish my life would stop_.

When I sleep, I feel regret and guilt, because I know I have to wake up and lie all over again. I don't want to lie anymore. The lie that currently covers every inch of my skull is the face of James Volterra, my first imaginary friend. His hair is a deep-sea darkness of curls, overgrown and full as they spill into his lime green eyes. In my dreams he is always wearing a black suit more expensive than my three handheld systems combined. He smiles at me and dimples appear in each cheek, there's a knowing glint in his eyes that says he knows that I wish he would stop appearing. But like all things that appear in my life, I have no control on when or how or even why they show up.

He doesn't speak. Ever. In my dreams his smiles and his overconfident body language is enough to display that I am his prisoner in this dream. He offers me his hand and suddenly we're dancing, my nightgown is now a puffy pink strapless ballgown with sequins splattered all cross it.

A splash of water hits me like a freight train and I scream as I jolt upright, gasping and curling away against a cold grey wall. "Geez, you'd think I _had_ murdered you the way you conked out!" Angel's laughter is in my head again, I've left one nightmare only to be trapped in another. I keep my eyes closed and refuse to turn away from the wall I've huddle against.

"Come on, say something monkey! You were having so much fun ranting before. Why so quiet now?" His tone is mocking and feral, it sounds closer now and his footsteps oddly align with the sharp panicked breathing rippling from throat. Those glacial hands seize me again, ripping me from the wall and forcing me to stand. I feel fingers digging into my skull and yanking at my hair but I still refuse to open my eyes.

The moment I do it becomes real.

"Let me see those eyes, kiddo." He purrs seductively against my cheek, his nose and breath gliding across my cheek in a slowly agonizing fashion. "Let me see them or you'll lose them for good." The promise in his tone made my eyelids flutter open and he laughs, the smug glean in his amber eyes stating that he knows he's won. "Where…a-am…I?" Awesome, way to waste ten seconds asking a stupid question that will never be answered. Angel seems just as put off as I am and he scoffs, dropping me like a rag doll to the ground. I land on my right side with a hollow thud, wincing as I try to sit up. The ground is flood with what appears to be black sand instead of granite or linoleum. I scoop up a handful absentmindedly, while I sense Angel circling me like the prey that I am.

"Don't you recognize the pit? It came from your dreams. Black sand, grey walls…Silver coated bars that will burn your flesh but not mine, no never mine." Angel is suddenly as manic as I feel, cackling like the evil villain he's already painted himself out to be. I frown at his words however, momentarily confused.

"My dreams? How do you know about my dreams?" I ask.

"I saw them when I fed from you."

"Oh. Great." Did that mean he knew about James? Suddenly my face grew hot and I sit up to pat it, sand forgotten. "Why didn't you kill me?" I ask another question, feeling bolder but I don't turn to look at him since I sense him pause behind me.

"That would've ruined the game and I'm not interested in giving you what you want. I make the rules here, not you. Got it?" His foot is on my back, digging against my spine with the subtle threat that he could easily snap me like a twig that way if he wanted to. "Got it." I mutter lowly under my breath and the pressure is gone. I turn my head to see if he's still behind me, but like Reven and Kenny he's nowhere to be seen.

I'm alone. Again. And in a fucking cage no less!

I propel towards the silver metal bars in front of me but stop before I actually touch them. Through the slots of the bars there is nothing but a vast darkness in front of me. The only light within the pit comes from a single lightbulb above my head, a spotlight on the clown in the cage.

I scream.


End file.
